Solid Waste Management Program

Missouri Diversion Rate For 1998 - Appendix

Lead-Acid Batteries

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Standard Recycling Rate excludes
batteries from aircraft, military vehicles, boats, heavy duty trucks, and tractors.
For these calculations, only batteries from passenger vehicles (including
light trucks), busses, recreational vehicles (RVs), all terrain vehicles (ATVs),
motorcycles and tricycles were included. The average weight for each battery
was estimated at 40 pounds each. A local recycling center was consulted
to determine this weight. Motorcycles, tricycles and ATV batteries are substantially
smaller than found in the other vehicles listed. The average weight for the
smaller batteries was estimated at 10 pounds each.

As of December 31, 1998, there was a total of 3,509,930 registered passenger
vehicles, buses and RVs, along with 112,011 ATVs, motorcycles and tricycles
in Missouri 1 . For determining the total weight of batteries
the following assumptions were made.

A. Each battery had a life expectancy of three (3) years.
B. Lead-Acid battery recycling rate of 96.5 percent. 2

Major Appliances

Major appliances were banned from Missouri landfills in 1992. Consequently,
the total amount of appliances are unavailable for landfill waste characterization
studies conducted in Missouri since 1992. The following procedure was used to
determine the amount of major appliances generated for Missouri.

The per capita MSW generated within the United States in 1997 is estimated
4.4 pounds per day or .8 tons per person per year 3 . The U.S.
population in 1998 is estimated at 270,002,000 4 . Multiplying the
annual waste generation by the population yields an estimated 216,001,600 tons
of MSW generated in 1998. Major appliances comprised approximately 1.6
percent of the waste stream in 1996 5 . Multiplying the amount of
MSW generated by 1.6 percent provides the tonnage for major appliances in the
U.S., approximately 3,456,026 tons. The 1998 estimated population for Missouri
is 5,438,559 6 , or 2 percent of the nation's population. Multiplying
the major appliance tonnage by 2 percent provides the estimated tonnage of major
appliances generated in Missouri, 69,121 tons. This amount is then multiplied
by 81 percent, the estimated recycling rate for major appliances 7
. The total tons of major appliances recycled in Missouri is estimated
to be 55,988 tons. It is not known how the remaining 19 percent of major
appliances are disposed of. A portion of the appliances may be disposed of illegally,
transported out-of-state, or it is possible that due to the landfill ban there
may be a greater percentage of major appliances being recycled.

Waste Tires

The Solid Waste Management Program estimates that approximately 4,000,000 waste
tires are generated yearly. The average weight attributed to waste tires
is 20 pounds per tire with the calculated weight for waste tires generated per
year being 40,000 tons. It is estimated that 75.6 percent of the tires,
30,240 tons, are recovered through recycling or tire derived fuel (TDF) 8
. In 1998 approximately 12,268 tons of tires were ground into crumb rubber
for playground cover 9 . The remainder, 17,972 tons was used
as TDF. Since Missouri law bans from landfilling only whole waste tires,
it is assumed that the remaining 24.4 percent of the tires have been landfilled
or illegally disposed.

Yard Waste

Yard waste comprised 8.29 percent of the waste stream in 1987 10
. The waste characterization study conducted by Environmental Imporvements
Energy Resource Authority (EIERA) in 1987 was also used to estimate the total
amount of waste generated in 1990. The year 1990 was the starting point
for waste diversion. In 1990 an estimated 6.8 millions tons of waste
was generated. Multiplying this amount by the 8.29 percent yard waste
gives an estimated value of 563,720 tons yard waste generated in 1990.
The population in Missouri in 1990 was estimated at 5,117,073. The amount
of yard waste generated by each person is estimated at 220 pounds.

The estimated population for Missouri in 1998 is 5,438,559. Multiplying
the 1998 population by 220 pounds equals the total yard waste generated in 1998,
or 598,241 tons.

In 1996, 271 communities, with populations over 500, had yard waste collection
services. In 1998, there are 475 Missouri communities with populations
over 500. Dividing the total communities by those having yard waste collection
services shows an estimated 57 percent of the communities in Missouri have yard
waste collection services.

Multiplying the estimated yard waste generated in 1998 by 57 percent provides
an estimated 340,998 tons of yard waste being recycled by composting or mulching.
It may be assumed that the remaining yard waste is source reduced through home
composting and or grass-cycling by using mulching mowers.